


Quiet Mercy

by Be_the_Spark



Category: Riverdale - Fandom
Genre: F/M, Friendship, Love, Major character death - Freeform, Mental Illness, Murder, Mystery, Support, one descriptive sex scene, one scene of suicidal ideation
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-18
Updated: 2017-12-03
Packaged: 2018-12-03 15:38:04
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 15
Words: 15,498
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11535225
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Be_the_Spark/pseuds/Be_the_Spark
Summary: After Jason Blossom's murder is solved, Betty hasn't been coping well. Her home life is being controlled by her pathological parents. Her friends see the signs of her unraveling but they'd rather talk about other things.Betty's attempt at distancing herself from her pain leads her to make friends with a South Side girl named Eris. But when Eris lands in hot water, Betty turns to her ex to track her new friend down. In a shocking twist, will Jughead be able to protect the girl he loves from the worst part of the truth?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first Riverdale story. And actually this is the hardest story I've ever started. My initial instinct was to make this more plot driven, but as someone who has more or less gone through what Betty is dealing with, I know I owe it to myself and to anyone else out there who is sick to write a story that honors that struggle.

_Hello Darkness, my Old Friend._

_I've come to talk with you again._

_Because a vision softly creeping,_

_Left its seeds while I was sleeping._

_And the vision that was planted in my brain,_

_Still remains_ _within the sound of silence_

  
A secret could lose itself in the woods of Riverdale. Unlike Sweetwater River, where it was only a matter of time before hidden truths washed ashore, the trees stood together as sentinels. Safeguards, protecting the bounty that the society of Riverdale had wished to cast away. Perhaps these things were drawn to their ilk, because someone, a boy that Riverdale had also tried to write out of its postcard-perfect town, was a seasoned collector of secrets. For as long as something had a story, Jughead Jones would find it.

  
The next story would call too close to home for him. He didn't know about it yet, but somewhere on the south side of town there was a struggle taking place. Any ears the disruption fell upon swiftly tuned it out with indifference - for South Siders, discretion often tipped the scale for life over death. So it happened, quick and painful and as forgotten as light during an eclipse. When it was over, a girl emerged from a warehouse, the early January snowfall crowning her victor of the fight. Her opponent was put to rest deep in the forest, his silence marked by his own spilt blood. As she pushed him into the ground, she thought once or twice that someone might be coming for him. For her. But nobody came at all.

Then again, when it comes to secrets and stories, none of them ever truly end with a dead body.

 

 

“Jay, sweetie, could you hand me that bowl?”

Jughead didn't answer the woman. He'd always figured that he was his own species. He never realized the whole science of it until he started having dinners with his foster family – it killed all the appetite the already-skinny kid had.

Allowing himself a quarter-minute’s span of second thoughts about answering to a different name, Jughead finally lifted the bowl of remaining chowder, his eyes never leaving his computer screen to meet Mrs. Boats’s. Heat rose in his cheeks as the bowl was taken, his hand free once more.

Somewhere across the table, Mr. Boats hacked into his napkin. “Maddie, come out from under the table!” Six-year-old Maddie was about to grab someone’s ankles, Jughead knew it. He hoped she stayed under.

“Did you want another biscuit, Jay?” offered his foster mother, her tone bright and earnest. “We’ve got some honey butter left!”  
  
“Sorry Mrs. Boats,” he said, snapping his laptop shut. There was only one person who'd ever been allowed this level of doting on him, and keeping this up would only drive him to the phone to bother her. “Can I just…be excused?”

Mrs. Boats stared at him, a bit lost, a bit injured. She was always nice about his rejections. When Jughead had first moved in with the Boats, he'd often felt guilty about having a maternal figure like her around when his girlfriend was still under Alice Cooper’s thumb. Not that Alice Cooper wasn’t a strong parenting role model…but her daughter Betty had to grow up in a tightly wound household with little encouragement for her gentle heart. Things would perhaps have been standing differently between them now if her home life was comprised of biscuits with honey butter and a little sister whose greatest contribution to mankind was the evil-looking snowman sculpture sitting as the table’s centerpiece.

“Yahh!” shouted Mr. Boats. Maddie shot up giggling. Jughead got on his feet and smiled – then did a double take. For a moment he thought he saw his sister Jellybean instead. He had to get out of there. The familiarity of a home environment felt alien to him.

"Can I go meet up with a friend?" he asked Mrs. Boats.

She turned an eye towards her husband and child. Somehow she knew the way they interacted with one another was off-putting to him. “Back before 11,” she instructed sagely. That was the most he could promise, therefore the most she would ask.

Jughead nodded as Maddie began her best Tre Cool impression, slapping everything in the kitchen from the table to the fridge. When no one was looking, he grinned. And he threw the door open, running into the night like something was ready to chase him all through the town.

 

 

 

Jughead had been coming to the Andrews's door since before he collected Pokemon cards. Knocking on it and seeing Archie's face light up when he said hello - that was the feeling he was missing over with the Boats family. Except Mary Andrews was there in place of Fred, a solemn reminder that Archie's dad was in a coma.

"How is it? Having your mom here?" Jughead asked Archie once they'd settled in his room.

Archie ran a hand through his red hair, indicating he was flustered. "There's more baking going on. Another female for Veronica to talk Cosmopolitan with now that she's talking war on her parents."

"Ah, Riverdale's very own Sopranos." Jughead frowned, the lack of female companionship for Veronica Lodge not adding up. "So she's not talking to Betty?"

Archie shook his head. "It's not - I don't know what's going on with Betty. I mean, she's right next door, Jug. Right there and it's like she's avoiding us or something."

For as long as he'd known Betty Cooper, Jughead had never seen her alone. Her parents, sister, friends...everyone adored her. Everyone. "So it's not just me, then," he said quietly.

His friend sighed. "Veronica wants to do an intervention at some point. You in?"

Jughead shrugged a shoulder, hoping to feign disinterest. "She's not on drugs, Arch. She just wants to be left alone. You can't intervene on her space like that."

"Probably," said Archie. "But I want to hear it from her."


	2. Chapter 2

_In restless dreams I walked alone_

_Narrow streets of cobblestone_

_'Neath the halo of a street lamp_

_I turn my collar to the cold and damp_

_When my eyes were stabbed by the flash of a neon light_

_Split the night and touched the sound of silence_

 

 

  
It was the first day back from Christmas break and Betty Cooper had never seen Riverdale High look so beautiful. The seven a.m. sun filtered through patches of gentle grey clouds, casting a glow on the beige cement steps. The first snow of the month was a dusting that had left everything laced with white; meanwhile, a mist drifted above the frost-glinting lawns. The chill itself wasn’t so bad, but Betty had already been up and walking for hours. Comfortably numb was a hard-won state.

On the usual day, she walked to school with her neighbor, Archie Andrews. But today she came alone, and was happier for it. Even if it meant having nothing to do but stare at the entrance. It’s not that she couldn’t go inside if she wanted – at this time the doors were open to the pre-class extracurricular students. And in half an hour she'd have to go in anyways to corner Cheryl Blossom about her place on the cheerleading squad. If she timed it right, Betty could grab a seat in the cafeteria afterwards, just before the beat poets had it out with the hockey team over turf rights. But the thought of that ached as it twisted from subdued humor into nostalgia. She knew someone who’d have placed money on that rivalry, and he would never count out anyone wearing black hats and eau de nevrose.

  
As the sun brightened everything around Betty's stationary feet, she thought absentmindedly, _Give my shadow enough time and it could eventually move without me._ The ancient Mayans, she recalled, played to that trick and built a temple that allowed a shadow to descend from the steps during the equinoxes. The shadow of a serpent.

“Betty?” a voice broke from behind. Her shoulders tensed, the pain from this sudden alarm making her wonder whether she’d accidentally rolled over a porcupine.

Kevin Keller swerved into view, placing himself in between Betty and the doors that she hadn't wanted to walk through just yet, but was now thinking _hell yes_.

“Thank God,” he said. “I was so worried you’d left town!”

She shrugged, a helpless half-smile emerging. There wasn't any need to ask him exactly why he'd been afraid, not when Kevin was one of the most socially well-connected people in Riverdale and thus knew all.

“I should have called,” Betty began apologetically. “That way you could have heard it from me and not...”

“Veronica. Who heard it from Archie, who heard it from Jughead.”

She sighed. _Of course. It does tend to go in that order_.

Kevin folded her into his arms briefly, then stared at her with miles of concern. “Are you okay?” he asked as they stepped apart. “I mean, really? Because I’m still trying to get over Joaquin and could go for a pint of Urban Bourbon at any hour.”

Betty's lips stretched into a grin. “I’m perfect, Kev. But seriously, raincheck…I have some things left to do.”

Kevin nodded, linking his arm with his friend's so that they could enter Riverdale High together. All Betty could think of was the relief she felt when it was Kevin, not Archie, who found her. For awhile now, the closer that someone was to Betty, the more she was wanting to pull away from them. It was tough enough to do that with one best friend. Unfortunately, she had three more where that came from.

 

Less than two months ago, it would have been impossible to miss the unmistakable _je ne sais quoi_ of Cheryl Blossom. Her fiery red locks matched a personality that sparked with rage and vindictiveness after her twin brother Jason was murdered, and the only thing that drastically tempered it turned out to be the revelation that her own father was the murderer. In spite of some jaw dropping antics in the fallout (namely people saying she torched her own mansion) Cheryl hadn’t sought Betty out much. Well, besides to ask about her sister, who was due to give birth to Jason Blossom’s twins in a few short months, that is.

Still, even with Cheryl not actively seeking her out, it was very easy to find her. Cheryl's superpower was knowing anytime someone in the school was talking about her.

“Betty!”

Or thinking about her. Betty put on her smile and approached Cheryl by the entrance to their Biology class. “Hi Cheryl. I was just gonna look for you.”

Cheryl put a hand on her heart. “GMTA, Betty! So how’s one of my favorite cousins doing?”

Ugh. Despite the recent discovery that they were related, it was still a bit too early for that reminder. But Betty cleared her throat and said, “Oh, I’m just -.”

“Uh-uh,” the redheaded girl chastised. “Babies first.”

Betty spoke slowly. “Polly is great. The babies are getting a nursery set up in our parents’ old computer room. My mom and dad are fighting about whether to paint it blue or pink.”

Cheryl rolled her eyes. “I didn’t ask about your parents, Betty.”

“And I want off the River Vixens.” There, the words were out and unable to be taken back.

At first, Cheryl just blinked. Her mouth opened and closed twice before she could remember how to articulate disdain. “Pourquoi? Nobody just wants to leave the River Vixens. I have to be the one -.”

“So cut me,” Betty interrupted. “I don’t care. If it matters that much to your image, you can tell people whatever you want. You didn’t want me on the team to begin with.”

There was a shine in Cheryl’s amber brown eyes that shifted her appearance – it seemed both understanding and intrigued. “Veronica was the one who pushed for your spot on the team. What does she say?”

Betty became preoccupied with a smudge on her right sneaker. “I haven’t told her.”

“So she’s going to flip the team over wondering what happened.” Cheryl released a derisive snort. “Can’t have Little Miss Drama thinking I cut you first. Okay, well, one of us had better catch her up before practice."

Betty nodded her acceptance of this responsibility just as the school bell ripped into a frenzied clamor. Teenagers filled the hallway - boys wearing blue and gold letterman's jackets were whooping at each other's jokes; honors students in the senior class racing to be first in the classroom as if it made a difference in the fight for the valedictorian title; couples holding hands, smiling shyly while they whispered sentiments meant only for one another's ears...

Hey, Betty?”

Betty looked up. That shine in Cheryl’s eyes was bigger now…was it sympathy? “It’s none of my business, but….don’t throw yourself away over a boy.”

Betty swallowed, feeling like sandpaper was caught in her throat. “Thanks Cheryl.”

She knew what the Blossom girl was thinking. What Kevin, and probably Veronica and Archie were thinking too. That she was disconnecting with everyone she loved because she was going through a breakup. The truth though?

It was the other way around.


	3. Chapter 3

A handful of girls at Riverdale High were able to get away without being present for the opening act on their class schedule, and somehow tardy notes turned into “fashionably late” grace passes. Not that she would have wanted to, tacky rich-bitch move that it was, but Veronica doubted this was even an option for her.

When she stepped into her Biology class, she found a sub leading the lecture. There was barely time to think she was safe before he called her out. “Veronica Lodge? I’ve already marked you as absent for this class.”

Veronica blinked. “I’m sorry, who are you?”

Some snickers rippled around the room. Perhaps it was due to the melancholy-inducing lights in the ceiling panels, but this stand-in teacher looked a lot like Ben Stein.

“Ms. Lodge,” he drawled. God, he even sounded like it! “Did you bring a note from Principal Weatherbee excusing your lateness?”

“I –.” Veronica choked, taking in the sight of her classmates’ stares.

Archie: Impatient – there must have been something he wanted to talk to her about.

Cheryl: Bemused, like she’d just finished a Green Apple Warhead and was now watching someone suffer through it for the first time.

Kevin: Confused Puppy. For the sheriff’s son, it was endearing but unhelpful in moments like these.

Then there was Betty: Did she even know what planet she was on at the moment?

“Just call her dad!” a guy shouted.

His friend sitting behind him sailed a high-five.“Famous last words!”

Fire coursed through Veronica’s face. What would Ferris Bueller do? Lowering her voice to sound solidly cold, she said, “A thug took my car. I’m lucky to be here. Do you need a note for that or should I just give you my dad’s number?”

Although the teacher’s face remained impassive, he said curtly, “Take a seat, Veronica.”

She gave a half-curtesy and strode to the back, Kevin whispering at her along the way, “A thug took your car?”

With a brief wink, she mouthed, _My dad_. Then, casting an uncertain glance to the opposite desk at Betty, who looked like she was trying to disappear into her robin-egg blue hooded parka, Veronica retreated to the seat next to her boyfriend.

“Where were you really?” Archie muttered.

“Hell,” she said bitterly. “My father gave me the talk. Then he wanted to drive me to school, so I walked.”

Her boyfriend’s mouth quirked with dark humor. “I had the same talk with my mom.”

Prodigal parents were now officially written off Veronica Lodge’s invitation pool. Anyone who made personal choices at the expense of raising their children, be it crimes leading to incarceration like Hiram Lodge, or just a simple desire for change of address like Mary Andrews, had no business telling those children whom they should socialize with.

However, for Archie, Veronica couldn’t help but be disappointed. “So was your mom just pretending to like me or am I ever getting my Scarlet GLAMMA! nail polish back from her?”

He spun his pen between his fingers, a nervous habit he seemed to have picked up in recent weeks. “Ronnie, she does like you. It’s just what we’re doing -.”

“For real? Please, are we living with the Coopers now?”

Archie raised his eyebrows, alerting her to Code Betty. Startled, Veronica turned to see her best friend staring forlornly at her lab notes. Making a mental note to check on her in a minute, Veronica put her hand bracingly on Archie’s wrist. The pen stopped spinning.

“Veronica,” he said in undertone. “It’s the _other_ thing that we’re doing.”

Her eyes widened. Before Riverdale High had checked out for its first seasonal break of the school year, tragedy struck the Andrews family. Archie had been forced to watch as a gunman walked into Pop’s Diner and shot his father. With each day passing as Mr. Andrews hung on life support, the same question burned in his son’s mind: Who was responsible?

For awhile, they'd all been looking for the answer, right down to Kevin and even fellow classmate Ethel. And Betty had been downright obsessive for her part...until she wasn't. One day she did something so unbettylike, Veronica had expected for Unsolved Mysteries to swoop in for a feature. Lovers broke up every day, but a fracture in reality had to have occurred for Betty to end things with Jughead. In spite of how much Veronica felt for her own boyfriend, the universe seemed to have been gravely unbalanced for herself and Archie to be outliving the dark romantic's pipe dream that was their best friends' relationship.  
  
And when Betty dropped out of their investigation, Jughead soon followed. Losing their momentum meant it was a matter of time before Kevin and Ethel were out of it. Which left Veronica, Archie, and their parents ordering them to stop what they were doing together.

“Do you know,” she whispered, “anything else about why Betty broke up with Jughead?” She couldn’t say why, but she felt there was an answer for that question that connected all the dots.

“Only what Jughead’s told me. She said she needed some time to figure out what she wanted. He asked her if it was him – living with the Boats, going to South Side, associating with the Serpents.”

“And?”

“He said she told him that wasn’t it. That she really just wanted to deal with everything going on with her life and family on her own. He’s not sure if that’s all true, but that’s what she said.”

Veronica studied Betty. So pristine, so bright, likely from birth. And now that fallen star was trying to lose its own spark, to become a dull rock in the field. Why?

When the time came to work with microscopes and the no-name sub called for everyone to partner up, Veronica flashed a quick smile at Archie, promising that she was about to do something proactive. He nodded, mouthing _good luck_. Then she headed for the empty seat next to Betty.

The look of faint dismay in Betty’s blue-green eyes did not give this moment a promising start. Still, Veronica pushed forward. “What’s going under the glass first?” she asked.

Betty looked at her checklist. “Hair follicles, I think.”

“From the head?”

She frowned. “Actually, maybe it means eyelashes. That would make more sense, wouldn’t it?”

“Allow me, then.” Veronica reached for a single lash near the back of her eyelid, one that wasn’t tainted by five coats of mascara. She grinned appreciatively at Betty’s look of surprise when she plucked it out.

As Betty took the first turn looking through the microscope, Veronica decided the best way to work through the elephant in the room was to point it out. “Hey…we’re still friends, right?”

“Huh?” Betty lifted her face from the microscope, a troubled expression in her eyes. “Yeah, of course. But, V, there is something I have to tell you.”

 _Progress, Archiekins_ , thought Veronica. _I’m all about results_. “Okay,” she said. “Hit me.”

Betty bit her lip. “I’m leaving the squad.”

If anything was in the opposite direction of what Veronica needed to hear, that was it. “The Vixens? Why, Betty?”

The other girl drew a shaky breath. “The cheering and the effort…I just don’t want to be a part of it.”

“You don’t seem to want to be a part of anything, these days, though. Are you sure you still want us to be friends?” Veronica’s voice sounded harsher than she’d intended, and she hated the way it made Betty shut her eyes to wait out the tirade. But the Riverdale Vixens was where they’d first started bonding. Standing up to Cheryl’s domination on the team together, planning their revenge on jock-from-hell Chuck Clayton, swearing they’d never let anything come between them…

She dropped her voice to an urgent tone. “Betty, what do you want? Don’t you even want to find out about what happened to Archie’s dad?”

Betty’s eyes flew open. “Mr. Wheedy?” she cried, standing. “I’d like a bathroom pass!” Watching her tear out of the classroom, Veronica shared an alarmed glance with Archie.

“What did you say to her?” he said, not bothering to lower his voice this time.

What did she say? What was it? The details were a blur. “I have no idea,” she said. And although she was desperately torn between chasing after Betty and rushing over to Cheryl to prevent her from filling Betty’s position on the cheerleading squad, a part of her wasn’t quite able to forget that she had Ferris Bueller’s Economics teacher standing in for Biology, and his name was Mr. Wheedy.


	4. Chapter 4

Apart from a pair of granola bars, Betty hadn't brought much to pass for lunch. Sustenance had become an afterthought as she chipped away more and more at her social life. _The problem_ , she thought while stepping out onto the school's frozen courtyard, _is that food is easier to get away from than_ _friends_.

"No, that's not it," she corrected herself, her words forming an icy cloud in midair. "The problem is wanting to get away from them." Because it wasn't natural. It wasn't her. And yet there she was, trudging through the snow-caked fields, looking for just one place where she could obtain some solitude.

By the time Biology was finished, Betty had found what she was looking for under the football bleachers. Minimal ice patches, and portions of cold yet dry concrete. The closest company was a band of crows hopping on the other side of a distant fence. With everyone else still locked away inside their scheduled curriculum, Betty felt safe. The feeling she got whenever she was surrounded by others, like her skin was wrapped in rubber bands, hadn't surfaced. She could almost remember what it was like to be Betty.

And then she remembered Veronica's face. "Are you sure you still want to be friends?" she'd snapped. It struck Betty right then that she'd been asked that before, two days before Christmas. She'd gone to Jughead's old trailer. He didn't officially live there anymore since moving in with the foster family, but he still sought refuge in it when they seemed ready to start liking him too much. Betty had walked in on her boyfriend dealing with a member of the South Side Serpent gang. His father's gang, which was now his own. The floor in the room had shifted upon her entrance. She felt a warning, an edge creeping within her, as though someone was running the flat blade of a cold knife down her back. It was the same reaction she had whenever she saw Chuck Clayton in the hallway at school - threatened. And when Betty Cooper felt threatened, an anonymous piece of her was ready to respond by throwing down the gauntlet and lighting a match on gasoline. 

Explaining what she was truly, deeply afraid of was too difficult of a notion for her to relay, even to the person who knew more about this side of her than anyone else. But Jughead seemed sadly unsurprised by her decision. He only asked her, "Do you still want to be friends?"

Did she? She wanted to want it. She wanted to be the girl everyone needed. The one who could laugh and be around people without the unrelenting ache in her soul.

"Hey Blondie," a voice broke into her thoughts. Betty turned her face towards a pair of legs in black combat boots. A head ducked under the seats to greet her. "You got any change? I hear the sodapop machine's just about the only decent thing about this school."

Betty shook her head at the speaker: a tan-skinned brunette girl, bearing no visible makeup except for the blue six-pointed star drawn on her cheek. "If that's the standard for decency then we might as well be going to class at Pop's."

The girl smiled and settled on an icy grass patch across from Betty. "I doubt we'd mind that. Are you okay?"

Betty had just winced, her usual aversion to people manifesting as a headache. "Yeah, it's just...well, I came here to be alone."

"Oh. Me too." The girl frowned, suddenly serious. "It's my first day and I already want to knock some heads together."

"Where'd you move from?"

"The South Side." She held out a hand, which Betty shook. "Eris Davinia."

"Betty Cooper."

Eris's jaw dropped. "Girl, everyone in my old neighborhood knows who you are. The Serpent's champion."

Betty held up a protesting hand. "I wrote an article on FP Jones after he was cleared of murder charges, not the gang as a whole."

But the girl merely seemed impressed. "His son Jarhead goes to South Side High, right? I saw him a few times before school went on break."

Betty's lips twisted, her instinctual method to stop herself from saying too much. "It's Jughead. And yeah, he transferred over last month."

The brown eyes under Eris's shaggy bangs lit up with the sudden realization that Jughead's transfer might have been a sore point. "Sorry. If it's something you'd rather not talk about -."

It wasn't that Betty didn't want to talk about Jughead. It was that she'd have preferred to not be talking about anything.

Nevertheless, Eris powered on. "Well, guys here are tremendous doucheheads, for sure. I just got out of a hazing ritual at gym. They told me the teacher would time my laps to see whether I should be placed in Advanced P.E."

"There is no advanced P.E."

"I know, right?" exclaimed the girl, as though Betty had caught a point that not many others would have been able to. "So tell me, is there anything decent about Riverdale High that's not a vending machine?"

"Decent," mused Betty. "That would be Archie Andrews in a nutshell."

Eris's eyebrows shot up in warning. "Whoa whoa. Everyone's been saying that's the guy who had a thing with his teacher?"

Betty's fists clenched reflexively. Geraldine Grundy had been Archie's Music teacher. Beautiful, talented, and mature, it was easy to imagine how Betty's oldest friend had been taken in by her. Until Betty had found out, and Alice Cooper soon afterwards threatened to expose the illicit relationship, thus driving Grundy to leave town.

"Look, I'm not saying it was okay," said Betty. "But you seriously can't pick that one thing as an excuse to shun an amazing person."

"They why aren't you with him now?"

 _Because I'd hurt him_.Betty closed her eyes. _One, two, three,_ her head counted. A hand touched her knee, and Betty saw a face written with insecurities. "I know I have no filter. And you're talking to me way more than I deserve. Just say the word, Blondie, and I'm as good as gone."

Betty considered. It was true that she'd still rather be left alone. But something else occurred to her - Eris was someone she didn't know. Someone she had no emotional investment in, and who likewise had none in her. It could actually be better this way, staying just social enough to retain her communication skills. So as long as she didn't get too close.

She withdrew a granola bar from her parka and held it out. "Chewy?"

Eris smiled, and they stayed there under the bleachers through lunch, the unspoken agreement being that she did most of the talking. It was enough for Betty, who had a mind desperate to forget. Forget about Veronica and the Vixens and Archie's dad, and how heartsick she was for a boy she wouldn't let herself see or touch. 

And most importantly, she almost forgot that while she wasn't allowed to die alone, someone else out there already did. And that, in a way, she'd helped make it happen.


	5. Chapter 5

If a mustard yellow room dressed up with exotic plants and paintings of clear blue skies was meant to lure the unwitting into thinking it was summer, Archie felt that the hospital staff should try a different approach. Fred Andrews, resting in a bed across from his son, was unlikely to appreciate waking to find a Venus flytrap attached to a bouquet of blindingly pink balloons.

And he would wake, Archie was sure. With so many life lessons his father had yet to impart, thinking of a future with his permanent abscence seemed to freeze reality for just a moment.

Moments like those might have made a difference, too. If Archie had stayed put, had made some other choice that day at Pop's...but no. His father had given the slightest shake of his head at him, and he'd instead launched into the line of fire. And now, there right in front of him, was the fallout. Archie Andrews had raced against a bullet and lost.

"Hey Dad," he said softly. "The doctors have been saying that I should keep coming here, to talk. To let you know I'm here. If you know that I'm here, then I need you to fight to come back and tell me what to do. About my friends, about Mom trying to take me back to Chicago. About whether to find a new hangout joint where I didn't see..." With a strained cry ending his speech, Archie's voice disappeared. The words in his head, however, did not.  _That memory keeps playing before my eyes like a video loop. Every time I start to feel better, to start to write music again...I can't. Not without you, Dad._

"Archie?" a girl's voice spoke from the door. He turned around to see a pretty blonde wearing a loose-fitting soft sweater dress. From an outside view, the clothes suited her so well that it would have been tough to detect them as maternity wear.

He smiled, wishing he could appear more cheerful at her entrance. "Hi Polly. What are you doing here?"

Betty's sister shrugged. "Ultrasound. I got the appointment time mixed up and came early, though -." She squinted very suddenly and cleared her throat. "Who brought the Little Shop of Horrors in here?"

Casting a distrustful glance at the Venus flytrap, he admitted, "I have to idea. I came in one day and it was just sitting there. Hey, is Betty with you?"

Archie tried to sound nonchalant. Betty hadn't shown up for the rest of their shared classes. Her phone was leading calls straight to voicemail. But if he told Polly any of that, her mother would sniff it out and make Betty's life even more stressful than it was already.

To his dismay, Polly looked downcast. "I haven't seen much of her lately. She's either in her room or out of the house. I wish she'd tell me what she did so I can be there for her."

Everything else wheeling around in Archie's mind screeched to a halt. "What _she_ did?" he repeated. "So you mean this isn't our fault?"

There was helplessness in Polly's blue eyes. She folded her arms and stepped further inside the room. "Look," she sighed, a range of slight uncertainty in her tone. "When Betty and I were kids, we handled our mistakes in our own ways. I could always make peace with them and move on, the way we're supposed to, you know?"

Archie nodded, easily relating, and Polly continued, "But Betty...she was always so hard on herself. Not about stupid things like breaking Mom's dishes or being rude to telemarketers. Lying, on the other hand? Breaking a confidence? She'd punish herself for hurting others by locking herself away. If she can't justify it, then she can't live with it."

Betty had spent weeks shutting them out. It hadn't seemed to make any sense, but Polly's revelation threw everything into place. It was, in fact, an essential side of Betty that was responsible for it; one that they'd all known but had never looked closely enough. "Who did she hurt?"

He expected cluelessness on Polly's part. Instead she frowned. "I assumed it was you, Archie. The last time I saw Betty act normal, before Christmas, before she broke up with Jughead, was the week leading up to a morning where our mom had gotten all excited about a new headline she was going to break. Betty came downstairs and heard about it, and she..God, I can't even."

"Polly -." 

She closed her eyes, briefly pained by the thought. "She told Mom that they'd hurt you enough already, and if Mom put that news out there, Betty would kill herself."

The blow of the first half of the statement wasn't nearly as hard hitting as the next - the idea of Betty threatening to take her own life churned a sick feeling in his stomach - yet it was the former he had to focus on.

"And how," he said, breathing harshly like the air was dust, "does Betty think she hurt me?"

"I don't know. But the article they were arguing about...it had something to do with a teacher who was murdered."

"A teacher from Riverdale?"

Polly nodded. "The weird thing is, she was one of Jason's mentors. For music."

Moments that froze reality - Archie thought he'd already been afflicted with them for a month. But it was this truth, the one delivered so calmly, like it was nothing, that left him cold.

Betty had been ready to kill herself to protect him from finding out that Geraldine Grundy was dead.


	6. Chapter 6

"Elizabeth Cooper." The name sounded like it belonged to a stranger when tried out on Eris Davinia's tongue. "Did anyone ever tell you that you deserve more?"

Puzzled, Betty nevertheless allowed herself a smile and used one of her pillows to prop up her freshman yearbook. She and Eris were on her bed, chatting like they'd been besties forever instead of acquaintances for a day. It was so strange how this was the type of interaction she'd been avoiding with everyone else, but with Eris it felt relatively fine.

"I deserve more than my name?" 

"I'm just saying, you are more than that. But I mean, it's like you were born into the crowd with the ordinary name of a pastel-painted wallflower, when you should be standing out, choosing your own adventure."

A doubtful Betty scoffed, "And what should be that adventure?"

"Not up to me, Blondie. It's all about what's in your blood. What's vital?"

What had always been vital to Betty? Her eyes drew to the yearbook image of the blonde girl in the pink cardigan. It looked like that girl would answer love. Peace. Unicorns. Well, what the girl looking at her from this side craved from this Pleasantville hell was justice. For the people she cared about to be dealt with fairly. For the truly good to persevere. 

Eris gave her a long stretch of silence before she quipped, "I can bet a billion candles in the wind that you just came up with something no one else around here does."

It was a moment, the first honest moment, that Betty had had with herself in a while. And all thanks to a South Side transfer student she was determined not to care about.

And then it was over.

"ELIZABETH COOPER!" Alice's voice carried upstairs sounding as sharp and bitter as a nail.

Betty shot Eris a panicked look. "Hide."

The other girl rolled off the bed and under it just in time to miss Betty's mother marching to the door. As usual, she wasted no seconds.

"Well, I'm back from Polly's ultrasound, and the first message on the phone is from the school. Reporting your absence - which is funny, because I know for a fact that you left early enough this morning to make it."

"Mom -."

"And then, surprise! A call from Veronica, worried she said something that upset you during class, and to please call her so she can sleep tonight. Have you been home this whole time?"

"N-no. I don't t-think so," stammered Betty as her mind flashed into a blank spot.

Alice's eyes narrowed. "You mean you don't know where you've been all day?"

Backtrack. "I mean, I lost track of time. I didn't go straight home after leaving."

All the stress and frustration in her mother's eyes flicked back to reveal a blatant fear. "Baby," she said, an obvious attempt to soothe out information. "What is going on with you? Do we need to get you some kind of help?"

Betty felt the light inside her flash to darkness. Her nails bit deeper into her palms as she said coldly,"You mean the  
kind of help you got Polly?"

Alice groaned. "Oh, Betty, enough! Polly's forgiven us, why can't you?"

"I don't know, Mom. Maybe Polly's really the perfect one after all."

Alice waved her arms. Never one to raise a white flag, the conversation had still apparently worn out her mother. "We'll talk more when your father gets home. And you're grounded."

A wild aspect of Betty's personality felt pleased. "Of course, Mom," she called after Alice's retreating form, "just let me go cancel all my plans!"

She turned around to see Eris already out of hiding. The girl gave an appreciative whistle. "Atta girl."

Betty exhaled, then laughed. "I've never been grounded before."

"Well, then let's not waste it," Eris declared. "There's this place where I used to hang out at with some kids before the move. It's the last place where anyone would look for you. Plus, there's gonna be a bonfire tonight."

Betty grinned. "Sold."

"You should change into some dark clothes to blend."

"Dark clothes" repeated Betty, a genuine for the first time in a month creeping onto her face. "Anything else?"

Eris sized her up. "Eight bucks," she decided. "We're swinging by the drugstore. It's like I said, Betty Cooper. You're meant to be more."


	7. Chapter 7

He hadn't been with the South Side Serpents for very long, but when a guy called Jaws wanted to meet in the woods. Jughead knew how it would have sounded on paper: Delinquent gang member found dead in Sweetwater River. Read: NO ONE CARES.

As it so turned out, that was indeed the case. Jughead stared at the corpse that Jaws had dragged into the clearing and wondered, _Is this going to be my life now?_

Jaws drew out a cigarette and snapped his lighter on the end, sparking it a bright red-gold. "Name was, we don't know," he said, blowing a stream of smoke into the dark icy air. Then he waved a hand over a blue spider tattooed between the dead man's neck and ear. "But you see this? This is a problem, kid. The stiff was a Spider, and all they need's an excuse for a war on Serpent territory."

 _I picked a hell of a time to come into this_ , thought Jughead. But curiosity beset him and he had to ask,"So why'd you want me here?"

Jaws gave a rueful chuckle. His Serpent jacket bore the marks of a senior member, and he didn't have to take Jughead under his wing the way he had, but he said he owed it to make sure FP Jones hadn't sacrificed a chance to raise his son as a free man for nothing. Which meant that whatever Jaws would ask of Jughead was pretty much guaranteed a yes.

"I want to know the story behind this," the older Serpent told him. "To make sure that we're in the clear, and damage control if we're not. I heard you got the ball rolling on that Blossom kid's murder?"

Jughead sighed. Well, it wasn't as if he had any extracurriculars on his schedule. But a dead member of the Border Spiders was probably going to be more straightforward than the Pandora's Box that had been Jason's death at the hands of his own father.

"I'm in," he said.

Jaws grunted his thanks. Then, "You'd better head on back while I put this one in the ground."

All too glad to do so, Jughead wandered out of the woods, the moon above glowing in the ink-black sky like a sphere of smoky quartz.

The closer he came to the outskirts of the forest, the thicker a scent drifting to his nose became. The warm, bittersweet smell of ash and embers. The South Siders, mainly Serpents and their significant others, had a tradition of throwing a bonfire on Mondays - their way of saying _screw you_ to the start of the working week. Drunken shouting was part of that tradition...however, by the time the giant blaze was in sight, he realized that the shouting was part of an altercation.

"Why don't you go back where you came from, sweetheart?" Jughead knew the Serpent who said that - Rex, a real hothead who didn't care for newcomers. Jughead had made a habit of avoiding him.

The voice that answered back, however, was also familiar. "Why don't you go there instead? It's a fantastic place to make people miserable!"

The back of the girl was visible - black punk clothes and boots, dark hair loose and messy - a South Side girl by appearance, but Jughead couldn't quite place her. The crowd gasped and whoa'd when she whipped out something small and sharp-looking.

Rex sounded unruffled. "Put that away, okay? You don't belong here, so stop acting like it."

The girl raised her arm - Jughead was now close enough to see it was a nail file. "Damn right I don't belong here. Or there. So I'll go wherever I please until that changes."

The words - they were so hostile, so unlike any girl Jughead knew, that it wasn't until he was at her side that he saw it.

"Betty?"

She turned to him, her freshly dyed hair still bearing that chemical smell. The look in her eyes - he didn't recognize that either at first, not until she blinked and said softly, "Jug."

Rex snorted, standing across from them. "Jones, you know this whack job?"

"Shut your mouth, Rex." All the feeling inside Jughead was stirring about so intensely, he was counting on looking at least a little menacing. "She wrote that article about my dad being innocent."

"That's Betty Cooper?" a kid who went to South Side High with Jughead exclaimed. "Damn it, Rex. Show some respect."

Rex snarled, but said nothing. Jughead tugged on Betty's sleeve, forcing her to lower the nail file.

"Let's take a walk," he said. Because after a phone call he'd had with Archie earlier, he and Betty had much to discuss.


	8. Chapter 8

 

  
When Eris had suggested crashing a South Side bonfire party, all Betty had seen was an opportunity to escape her confining world for just awhile. When she'd presented an eight-dollar box of Earthy Brown, Betty had taken it as a dare - the price for admission. And as she rinsed her hair in the store's restroom, she'd felt free. A piece of her soul was waking up, slowly, and Betty wasn't sure whether it was a result of the changes she'd been making in her life, or entirely Eris's doing. But she relished in the experience of feeling new.

Until Eris had ditched her upon arriving at the site, claiming she'd be back with drinks. After twenty minutes, a stranded Betty was recognized by some Serpents as a student from Riverdale High. So much for Total Makeover: Biker Bitch Edition.

And just when she thought she had things under control, Jughead was standing next to her, openmouthed at the sight of Riverdale High's most notoriously nice girl fending off a volatile Serpent with a metal nail file.

"Why are you even carrying that?" he asked once they were far enough away from the South Siders for privacy.

Without hesitation, Betty opened her hands, showing the faded indentations her nails had made against the skin.

Jughead's stare was grim - he'd seen this before, the only one in whom she'd confided. She explained, "It got to the point where the scars weren't healing. So I started carrying a file to keep from making it worse."

He was quiet for a minute. Her heart flipped and her stomach wound back and forth in knots as she waited for his next words. They were the last thing she was expecting.

"You don't need to do this, Betty. Grundy's death wasn't your fault."

Two sentences, short and still powerful enough to knock the wind out of her speech. "I don't...how did you -"

Jughead stuck his thumbs in his leather Serpents jacket. "Oh, What Happened to Betty Cooper is only second next to Who Shot Fred Andrews on Archie's queue of procedural dramas. He called me as soon as he put it together. You know that this town belongs in a soap opera; everyone was going to find out sooner or later."

Betty looked into his eyes, the dark blue irises somehow still vivid in the dark. Tears threatened to surface around her lashes, but she squeezed them shut quickly. She wanted to shut everything out. Everything but the boy in front of her.

"I don't know why I couldn't leave it alone," she whispered. "It was none of my business."

Misunderstanding, Jughead replied, "You were trying to help a friend. And Grundy was by law's definition a sexual predator. Digging into her past got your mom's attention, and she drove Geraldine Grundy out. You did nothing wrong."

"No, I know," she whispered. And looking at him, at the sadness and acceptance he had for the story before she'd even told him, she realized he knew there was more.

"You wouldn't be threatening suicide and punishing yourself over the death of an exiled teacher who got away with pedophilia," he said, drawing closer.

The truth that she wasn't ready to face was arriving. Her limbs began to shake, half wanting him to know already and half wanting the world fall away and just leave the two of them standing together. "You saw what happened back there. I wanted to stab that Serpent in the eye," she whispered. "I go to school sometimes feeling ready to take out Chuck Clayton with a fork. That darkness inside me...it's going to hurt someone, Jug. And if that someone turns out to be you..."

His arms caught her as she stumbled, feeling the hammer beat against her heart. "I came here," she added in a rasp, "because I want to be alone. So no one I care about will see it. But you did -."

He held her tighter. "It's okay," he promised. "Betty, you're going to be okay."

"No, I'm trying to keep it in," she cried, the tears falling freely down his neck. "I'm trying."

"Well, I wish you wouldn't," he said, his voice harsh from emotion. "Not from me." He stroked her neck, ran his fingers through her freshly brown hair, and gently stepped back. "I don't think you should come back here. The Serpents aren't going to let you have what you want. If you're looking for a place to be alone, hardly anyone shows up at the Bijoux cinema during the week. And those who do are there for the film culture experience."

A delirious, anguished laugh escaped Betty. "That sounds like it could work."

"It does for me." And it occurred to her, for the first time, that maybe no one she knew understood the craving for solitude better than Jughead. "Just, fair warning, I might show up on occasion. But I won't bother you," he added.

She wiped her tears. "Thanks, but I think if anyone should be in the seat next to me, it's you, Jughead."

A rare smile spread over his face. "Whatever you need, Betty."

She was unable to find Eris that night. And yet, in the most subtle way that she could sense but not let herself acknowledge, another piece of her didn't mind the abandonment or the confrontation or even the failure to escape attention. Maybe it was because there would always be a bit of Betty that was trying to find its way back to Jughead Jones. But there was another part of her that still felt deeply wrong.

And that part wasn't letting things go back to the way they were without a fight.

 


	9. Chapter 9

 

Veronica couldn’t remember ever feeling more like a waste of oxygen. Although it bore a pain the equivalent of pulling teeth, she held back from approaching Betty at school the next day. After coming clean about the death of Geraldine Grundy, Archie said she’d broken down with Jughead last night. That was the last communication Veronica'd had from Archie too - for all she knew he could be locking himself inside a car and listening to The Fray for the next twenty-four hours to mourn his summer love. It was unkind to be rankled by this, but even more bothersome was the message Jughead was now passing to Betty's friends: please honor her need for space and continue to love her from afar.

However, keeping the rest of the details about their meeting undisclosed put Veronica on edge. For Betty to be carrying so much around with her, about Grundy and Archie and God knew what else, that she’d casually threaten to kill herself over it felt much like watching a spreading wildfire report on the news - you had to watch the destruction of something beautiful without being able to do a damn thing to help. And for someone who favored more proactive forms of problem solving, Veronica was struggling with hanging back, letting the best friend she’d ever had either figure herself out or die trying.

Meanwhile, turning to Kevin and Ethel for her own support team wasn’t the same experience as roping Betty Cooper into a plan of action. So, without Betty, and without Archie, Veronica Lodge spent lunchtime in the school cafeteria half-listening to her other friends go on and on about Riverdale High's upcoming Career Day.  And all she wanted was to track down Betty to compliment her new hair, and maybe offer the name of a stylist who could really make it pop. Idly shuffling around the leaves in her salad, she began sticking her fork in repeated jabs until Kevin asked who the voodoo magic in the grape tomato was for.

She gave a sour chuckle. "How about someone with no blue-collar marketable skills for Career Day and nothing equipped to help the people around me who are falling apart? I might as well sign up to be a professional pine tree!"

The sheriff's son shook his head. "First of all, breathe. No one has to go after the job they research for this event. And with your connections, I think you have more options than you think for shadowing mentors."

Veronica arched a brow. “Connections, as in the daughter of a criminal’s connections?”

Rolling his eyes, Kevin said, “Like your boyfriend’s? His mom’s a lawyer. You’ve spent months on the defensive – that would be a pretty decent fit for you.”

More than decent, if Veronica admitted it. It would only work if Archie could emerge out of his guitar and talk to both her and his mother. However, struck by the insight, she marveled, “Look at Kevin Keller. Just do the world a favor and shadow a career counselor.”

Kevin flipped the tab on his already open can of Monster. “Thanks but my dad sulks worse than a Kardashian who lost a Twitter feud whenever no one shadows his department on Career Day. Guess I'm taking one for the team.”

Shy Ethel gave him a sympathetic smile and said, “At least you both have good ideas. I couldn’t think of any. I’m feeling pretty useless.”

  
Veronica leaned back into her chair. “That makes two of us. We thought Archie’s music was sad before, but guys, I can’t even listen to it anymore because his life is in such a big suckhole and I feel like I can’t do anything for him if we're in it together.”

“Spoken like someone who watched and learned from that relationship example,” Kevin said blithely.

Betty and Jughead. Two hearts so lost in the darkness that they finally stopped being able to see one another. “I am a terrible friend,” sighed Veronica. “Betty wants her space. I want to do something for her. But doing something for her would wreck that space. We can’t both be happy in this.”

Ethel took a bite out of an apple. “Sure you can,” she said quietly. “You can give her what she wants.”

Kevin threw her an incredulous look. “We are giving her what she wants - leaving her alone. We literally can’t do much more than that.”

But Veronica detected something deeper in Ethel’s suggestion. “What are you getting at, Ethel?"

The girl fidgeted with the folds in her skirt as she explained, "I mean, just because no one's bothering her, it doesn't mean that she's getting what she wanted in the first place. Her friends aren't even the real problem, it's -."

"Riverdale," finished Veronica, stunned. She pushed her lunch forward and snapped to her feet.

"What, are you going to go find her?" a bewildered Kevin asked.

Veronica smiled wide, the rush of an idea electrifying her cells. "No, we're going to find Archie. And Polly. Get off your asses, you two!" Then, as Ethel was rising, Veronica beamed at her, "The school psychologist. That's who you should shadow. You are amazing, Ethel Muggs."

 _And you, Betty Cooper, are getting exactly what you asked for._  


	10. Chapter 10

In the myths of Ancient Greece, there was a deity who existed purely to spite the other gods. Whether it was frame-ups, rumors, or simply triggering the Trojan War just to be a troll, this goddess was to be avoided at all cost.

After finding a note in her locker, Betty was starting to think it was no coincidence that the goddess of Discord’s name was Eris. It read in thick marker script:

_Blondie –_   
_Sorry I can’t come back. Dead man in the woods singing my name. Either jail time or funeral in my future now. Be safe._   
_– E._

They were by the woods last night when Eris disappeared, which meant that either the girl had witnessed a murder or…

 _Don’t assume anything,_ Betty warned herself that afternoon, wandering into the South Side territory once more. After one whole day, the new girl at Riverdale High had slipped between the cracks like rainwater. Betty had been determined not to attach herself and last night with Jughead had shown her that the other girl was in fact not what she really needed, but she couldn’t just pretend they’d never met. She certainly couldn’t ignore such a cryptic farewell message.

The sidewalk in the neighborhood she was in ran and wound through odd alleys and tight corners. Someone like Eris could hide in this area for weeks without being found. With the pale sun setting behind the snowcapped trees, however, it was going to be more difficult to look for her.

 _It’s better than being grounded_ , at least, she thought, staring at the little grey house in front of her. Her feet scuffed the driveway as she began to walk, feeling both the heat and chill of her nerves working up.

 _Maybe this is too soon._ But her thumb had already pressed the doorbell by the time she decided to turn and leave. An older woman with a dark pixie cut answered at once, looking startled.

“Oh, it’s been awhile,” she said. “How are you doing?”

  
Betty’s face flushed. “I hope I’m not interrupting,” she said. “If you’re having dinner or something -.”

The woman waved a hand. “He never eats. Please, come in. We have extra mitzthra.”

She followed Mrs. Boats into the house. She’d only visited Jughead at his foster home twice before ending things, but in general this family was extremely accommodating.  
Little Maddie Boats was sitting at the table, donning a spiky princess tiara and using chopsticks to pick up her olives. Mr. Boats was reading his usual evening paper, Sweetwater Sound. Betty smiled in spite of herself, thinking of her mother’s horror at the thought of people getting news from anywhere other than the Cooper family.

Mrs. Boats pulled out a chair and scooped a ball of buttery, cheesy angel hair pasta onto a plate for Betty. “Jay!” she called out. “Time to eat!”

Betty’s heart squeezed when she heard him answer from down the hall, “A minute.”

Maddie eyed Betty with a sparkle the older girl couldn’t remember ever possessing herself. “Are you still Jughead’s girlfriend?” she squeaked.

Her heart sank, partly wishing she could say yes. Mrs. Boats, evidently knowing enough, told Maddie, “Madeleine, I want you to try using a fork tonight. With our company -.”

“Oh, that’s fine -,” protested Betty, but the thumping footsteps stopped her short.

Last night, Jughead’s surprise to see her in the South Side had quickly adjusted for the sake of comforting her. However, with the near-wary expression in his eyes now, Betty wondered if she’d perhaps crossed a line.

“Hi,” she said softly. _Is this okay?_ she asked with her eyes.

With a wordless nod, he took the seat next to her.

Mrs. Boats cast furtive glances at them during the entire meal, but the excellence of the cooking made the stay worthwhile. And it was nice to participate in a healthy atmosphere – in fact, it made Betty almost homesick for a home she’d never even had.

Jughead, meanwhile, was certainly fitting a great deal of dinner in between his cheeks for someone who allegedly never ate at home. He said to Betty at one point, “Legend has it that the Illiad was written on a diet of this stuff alone. Homer probably made it a trend for the ancient Greeks.”

Thinking of Eris, Betty said nothing until they’d finished and retreated to Jughead’s room for privacy. She’d barely closed the door when he threw his hands up apologetically. “Sorry about them. You probably weren’t expecting to get trapped with the _S.S. Bradys_.”

“It’s fine,” Betty said, though doubted he was going to correctly interpret it as, _it only made me envy you just a bit_. “I’m sorry too, for just coming unexpectedly.”

Jughead looked confused. “Why? It’s not like I haven’t missed you enough to pick up the phone here five times a day before hanging up without hearing your voice.”

His words, surprisingly blunt but not bitter in the least, hit Betty in the heart. “I miss you too,” she confessed. “And I am so sorry to have hurt you, really -.” She tensed suddenly, her face very hot as he reached to place his hand on her cheek. It was very gentle, very cool, and she nearly drew close enough for a kiss.

“I didn’t mean it like that,” he murmured. “God, Betty, I’m just about ready to sell my emo soul so that you won’t hurt anymore. Just stop worrying about my feelings okay? They’ll be better when yours are.”

She wasn’t used to such professions from anyone, much less him. But she blinked through some small tears and promised, “I’ll do my best then. In the meantime, I was thinking you could help me with something unrelated.”

Jughead responded by sitting on his bed and inviting her to follow. She knew he was covering up his disappointment that she’d come just for a favor, but once she was sitting cross legged by his pillows, he said, “Well, I’m always game to help. What’s up?”

So she told him about why she’d been at the bonfire last night. When she showed him the note, he jolted off the bed. “Eris Davinia? That’s her name?”

She nodded, and Jughead said, “I have no idea who that is, but I think I know what she’s talking about. A body of a Border Spider member was discovered by one of the Serpents, and he asked me to look into it.”

“Why not just call the police?”

“Serpents don't want the blame. We’re sort of trying to avoid a war with the Spiders. So if this girl had something to do with it, she was right to run.”

Fearing the worst was making Betty pray for the best, so she said nervously, “ But what if he wasn’t a Spider? I mean, how could you be sure?”

Jughead tore a blank corner of what appeared to be a chemistry worksheet and drew on it with a pencil.

“Easy,” he said, handing it to her. “They all have this tattoo branded by their face.”

Betty stared, her nerves tingling as though they’d lost circulation. “I thought it was some kind of star. She had it on her face, Jug.”

The truth darted back from Betty to Jughead. Finally, he said, “Well, that explains why I’ve never heard of her. Whoever she said she is, Betty, Eris is not from South Side.”

“She’s a Spider,” Betty concluded, and let that revelation hang in silence.


	11. Chapter 11

_Previously in Riverdale, yet another iconic redheaded teenage boy disappeared. After spending forty-eight hours inside a Kleenex box, he returned to his friends with a demo CD of his feelings and a maple-frosted doughnut the size of a hubcap, ready to meditate his obstacles into the Phantom Zone for all eternity._

_  
_ He knew that Jughead compared life in Riverdale to a daytime drama, but Archie’s role in it had to be sinking the proverbial ratings. Between his father’s condition and lack of progress on the hunt for the gunman responsible for it, Betty’s dangerously isolating behavior, and now the news about Geraldine Grundy’s murder, Archie had finally checked out for a whole day in a long overdue therapy session. He’d even taken it upon himself to write and record some music afterwards, which he took to interpret as a sign that he was healing. And now he was ready to face the one issue he could make a difference on.

Veronica was the first to greet him at Riverdale’s town mall after school the next day. At first, she moved towards him slowly, as though she were about to pick up a wild bunny from a ring of fire. His arms caught around her waist, pulling in closer. He breathed in the smooth scent of her perfume mixed with her shampoo and murmured, “It’s good to see you.”

She kissed him lightly on the cheek. “You sure you’re okay? Because I swear, Archie, I was this close to throwing you and Betty into the same boat.”

Maybe Veronica didn’t remember it, but she’d sent him seven messages saying as much only yesterday. He smiled, “Sorry. I’m...coping. And doing something for Betty will definitely help with that.”

An alluring twinkle reflected in her dark eyes. “Then let’s get on that road.” Taking him by the hand, she led him into the mall’s food court, where Kevin Keller and Ethel Muggs were holding an umbrella table for them.

“Is this everyone?”he said.

“ ‘Course not,” a voice behind him answered. Archie turned and grinned with relief.

“Hey man, what’s been going on?” Despite keeping up on the phone constantly, he felt like he hadn’t seen Jughead in person for weeks. But he was here, in his dark T-shirt and one-of-a-kind beanie carrying a tray of double cheeseburgers and French fries, totally unchanged in their time apart.

Jughead gave a self-conscious half-smile and set his tray on the table. “Ah, you know. Homework. Serpent side projects. I think my foster family has a Stepford cult.”

His ears pricking at the mention of the Serpents, Kevin’s head slightly turned. “Serpent side projects?” he repeated, and Jughead fell silent.

Archie didn’t blame him – as the sheriff’s son, Kevin was okay associating with someone who bore the title of Serpent, not the job description. “So Ronnie, are we on for tonight?” he said.

Catching the small cough he made, Veronica said quickly, "We are. You're bringing the music, right?"

Music? Archie blinked back surprise. "I guess. What do you want to hear?"

She whipped out a piece of paper and showed him. "Something for everyone," announced Veronica. As the list was passed between the five of them, little comment was made until Jughead said, "Impressive. But why do you want to be surrounded by potted plants?"

Rolling her eyes, Veronica said, "Because! I'm trying to make a night special. Food, reservations, music, and yes Jughead Jones the Third, some plants to dress up the joint!"

By the time Veronica was done, their friends had backed away by five steps. Even Jughead seemed nervous. Thinking fast, Archie agreed, "Fine, Ronnie, but can we at least take that thing out of my dad's room for this?"

Veronica softened. "I guess it's about time to do something useful with it."

Leaning in, Jughead asked, "What am I missing here?"

"Somehow a Venus flytrap wound up at his dad's bedside," explained Veronica. "No note, no name."

A disconcerting shadow passed over his friend's face. "That's a pretty specific gift to bring someone without taking credit for it."

In that moment, Archie Andrews remembered how in every junior mystery novel he'd ever read as a kid, he could always detect a vibe set up by a clue early on the book, but never seeing the whole puzzle before it was already solved. This felt like one of those books.

"Alright," said Veronica, too preoccupied with her own plans. "We all have our roles to play. Polly's on board. Let's have ourselves a great time, Alice Cooper be damned!"

Jughead and Archie mutually unlocked themselves from their private reckoning. Darkness was filling the space in his head, but whatever it was could wait. Betty couldn't.

 


	12. Chapter 12

As the lone soul in a fifty seat auditorium, the blood in Betty’s veins was finally singing _free!free!free!_ The featured film at the Bijoux, _West Side Story_ , was lengthy enough to take her mind somewhere else without compromising the parts of her brain that wanted to mull over the past few days.

She hadn’t heard from Eris again. Eris, who’d lied to her and acted like she knew anything about Archie. About Jughead. And herself…

Meanwhile, the Jets and the Sharks had clearly never learned sandbox sharing in preschool. Despite trying not to find anything in the movie to relate to, Betty watched the two gang worlds collide onscreen with a feud-sickened heart, the interactions within the families both asking and reminding her why she was running from it.

_Are you sure you still want to be friends?_

_Don’t throw yourself away over a boy._

_It’s not like I haven’t missed you enough pick up the phone here five times a day –_

Betty groaned, her head full. It was time to go. Walking through the doors, that was when she saw it illuminated by the street lamps. Snow, drifting and dancing in tiny pieces. Beautiful. Her sight trailed from the sky to one street lamp, landing on the lanky dark haired figure under the light.

She bit back a smile, but she knew Jughead had seen it.  
“Mind if I walk you somewhere?” he asked.

With a nod, she let him lead the way. She couldn’t say what it was exactly, but his presence by default relaxed her. Tonight, it was enough to leave her wondering whether she’d had anything to worry about with “Dark Betty” harming him in the first place.

 _Where would I be_ , she wondered, _if I’d just let us be?_ A short giggle blared from her throat, causing him to smile, uncertain but happy.

“Haven’t heard one of those in a while,” he observed, gradually collecting a pile of snow in the creases of his jacket. He held his arms open. “Snowman for your thoughts?”

“I just pulled an Archie,” she said. “Rhyming things in my head.”

She expected a wise-ass comment, but he resumed walking with her. “Hey, listen…that Venus flytrap at the hospital – have you seen it?”

The hospital. When was the last time Betty had been at there? “I’m not sure. What are we talking about?”

“The one in Fred Andrews’s room. It’s just bizarre to turn up without a sender attached, don’t you think?”

“About as bizarre as a girl from the city’s border gang turning up at Riverdale High with an odd amount of knowledge about us, I guess,” said Betty slowly. “I’m going to ask to shadow Sheriff Keller for Career Day. See if I can learn anything.”

Jughead snorted, obviously not taken with this idea. And Betty understood – in the investigation of Jason Blossom’s murder, Sheriff Keller had rounded up Jughead on his suspects list and eventually arrested his father. “Look, I know we did his job better than him, but I just want to learn the basics of what the police can and can’t do when it comes to tracking down suspects.”

They were drawing close to a building by the sidewalk, a hotel much like the one the Lodge family had been residing. Betty noticed the way Jughead’s eyes were honed in that direction, and suspected this was their destination, for whatever reason.  
“Juggie,” she said, catching him by the hand. “I’m so sorry I haven’t mentioned it yet, but – your dad. Have you heard from him?”

Jughead nodded briefly, seeming simultaneously pained by the mention but pleased that she asked. “He said the Serpents have my back now. Like family.”

Why did this admission from him leave her feeling raw, like she’d been stripped of something incredibly precious without warning?

But Jughead only opened the door to the Felding Hotel and beckoned her to go inside. Apprehensive, yet quiet as a dream, Betty followed him into an elevator, out to room 505. And then she couldn’t take it anymore - she had to say something when he pulled out a card key, causing her nerves to flip.

“Jughead, we can’t go in -.”

He faced her, taking her hands. “Betty Cooper,” he said, every trace of humor in his face gone. “You can run away right now, wherever you want. I won’t stop you. But I want you to trust me on this. I want you to go inside.”

The breath in her lungs stilled. Betty gave a nod of consent and he slid his card key through the slot.

And opened it.

The room was dimly lit. Empty. A queen-sized bed with a shiny silver polyester comforter, facing a flatscreen television; the classic four star hotel standard. Then she looked more closely. Several various shapes boxes rested on the bed, even more on the table. Packages...and one envelope. Jughead plucked it from the main pillow and handed to her.

With shaking fingers, Betty opened it.

_To our beloved best friend Elizabeth Cooper_

_We bequeath to you the following gifts_

_One round trip ticket to Victoria B.C. for spring break. Going someplace where no one knows who you are is on my bucket list too, and this was my third pick (sorry about first and second but I  already vowed to myself that we were going to Portugal and Monaco together.)_

_Veronica_

 

_All of the platonic love within my very existence is going out to you, along with the enclosed tour guide's handbook to help you get there and back again._

_Kevin  
_

 

_Betty, I'm sorry that I don't have money to help send you to Victoria B.C. But Veronica says that this was my idea so I'm covered (I know she said it to be nice though)_

_Ethel_

 

_I wish I could be there for you right now, but I understand you're dealing with life differently than I am right now, and you're doing the best you can. I did make a CD the other day and I think it's a way of sharing with you without imposing on your privacy. I hope you take my songs with you on your journey so that they can bring you back home._

_Archie_

And lastly

_Hey sis. I'm giving you this video camera so that you can document your trip and share it with us. Little Jason and Lizzie will be waiting for you when you finally come back to us. Take all the time you need, Betty. You're worth it. (PS My other gift to you is that I'm covering for you right now, telling Mom you and I are having a sappy bonding session in my room so that she won't look for you tonight)_

_Love_

_Polly_

Betty's feet were hollow and unsteady by the time Jughead passed her his gift. A slim journal, like the diaries she'd stopped writing in - this one was pink, but not carnation pink or hot Barbie accessory pink. This was a faded rose color, and behind the cover, on the first line, was written _this is the story of how Betty slayed her dragons._

With burning eyes, she sank onto the edge of the bed. She'd torn herself from the people who loved her, and they had rewarded her for it. And what did she have for them? She couldn't even thank them.

Jughead pressed his forehead against hers and murmured, "The room is yours for the night, too. Did you want to be by yourself?"

 _Yes_ , she thought automatically, and realized this was a lie. She'd never wanted to be by herself. She and him, as though they were one person...that's all she wanted. Them together, but alone.

She swallowed the burgeoning sob in her throat, already hating herself for the question she was going to ask. "You said the Serpents were like your family. Where does that leave me, Jug?"

His eyebrows knit together, bewilderment settling in his blue eyes. "Are you kidding?" His voice was low, emphatic. "Betty, I can't call you family anymore than I call myself that. We're on the same coin."

Her thoughts, phrased it more beautifully than she ever could manage. She touched his neck, the pulse under his singing to hers, _free free free!_

His mouth drew hers to it like a magnet. "Never leave me," she whispered, and he answered by covering her lips with his own.

This kiss, it felt both old and new. Familiar grace with fresh passion. She could taste black licorice on his tongue - it figures he'd be eating candy no one else wanted. 

Her legs wrapped around his hips when he pulled her to him even tighter. They grabbed, they grappled, panting in between the breaths they shared together. The heat in her skin flared, wanting everything gone except for Jughead. Betty's fingers unfastened his belt while he lifted her shirt over and off her head.

They'd done this before, or nearly, having been interrupted by the Serpents that had dropped by to initiate Jughead into their gang.

 _No one's interrupting now_ , though Betty as Jughead pushed her onto the pillows. It struck her that this might be the first time she ever felt he was one hundred percent hers. Not the Serpents', not some individualistic integrity of his that said on paper they didn't belong together. 

She ran her hands under his shirt, feeling the light, cool skin of his chest, and slipped it off. Then he buried himself in her, kissing her from her lips to her neck, then placing his mouth in between her breasts. This created a longing in her, a desire so intense that everything tightened inside her. 

Then Jughead paused. "I've never...you?"

With tears trickling out of the corners of her eyes, Betty whispered, "No."

"Do you want to stop?"

She lifted her face to his and kissed him again. "Never."

So he came in, pressing every bit of flesh he had into hers. Wedging his legs and hers together - so tight and hard the pain startled her, but they fought it with more frenetic movement in their bodies. Eventually they found their synergy, and everything between them was reciprocated and united.

A kiss for a kiss.

A cry for a cry.

_I love you Betty Cooper._

_Jughead Jones, I love you._


	13. Chapter 13

The blue light of a winter morning brought Jughead to a peaceful awakening. He'd seen this kind of light before - film scenes with an epic battle at dawn; lucid dreams; or the descent of a possible UFO. It was six a.m. now - he didn't need to search for a digital clock in the room because he was familiar with every hour after midnight. Insomnia was a gift that way.

Instead he focused on the head next to his - a natural blonde princess who underwent transformations the way children went through socks. All in the name of finding an identity of her own. Jughead understood that, likely better than anyone. And although he wouldn't mention it, he was digging the brown hair - at least as much as he did the blonde. There she was, still warm, still sleeping, curled next to him like an infant. _Reborn._ The night had gone in a direction he hadn't anticipated, or even hoped for. _Then again_ , he thought grimly, _when Veronica booked the room, what had_ she _been anticipating or hoping to happen?_

Betty inhaled suddenly, turning opposite of Jughead.  _Six a.m._ , the irksome voice of responsibility inside his head reminded him. Jughead told it to go to hell.

"Hey Sleeping Beauty," he whispered, kissing her on the eyelids. Her lashes fluttered, a smile curving her mouth. "Fifteen more minutes," she murmured, nestling closer to him.

Why did a world outside this room have to exist? Inwardly groaning, he leaned into her ear. "I think your mom will summon the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse if you're late for school."

Finally Betty's eyes opened, not a trace of anxiety in them. "Well, if being late doesn't do the trick, hearing why certainly will."

"C'mon, that's not funny."

She giggled. "You're afraid of my mom?"

"I would say it's more of a healthy respect for self-preservation."

Her eyebrows darted to her forehead. "Uh huh. And what would you need to spare yourself from? My version of the talk was watching a religious documentary on teen pregnancy in my own basement."

Teen pregnancy - reality electrocuted him and he bolted up in a panic. "We weren't safe - Betty, I didn't even think!" Nightmarish images of pregnant Polly being locked away by the Sisters of Quiet Mercy while Alice Cooper danced on Jason Blossom's grave sent him into cold shakes.

All was quelled, however, when Betty put her hands around his face. "I might also mention that Mom put me on birth control right afterwards. Although Veronica didn't know any of that," she added, bemused.

So Betty figured Veronica had seen this outcome too. "Remember to thank her for me," he said dryly, throwing himself onto her again.

With a surprised squeal, she laughed, "What are you doing?"

His eyes met hers with a challenge. "Giving you your fifteen minutes," he declared, and moved his lips onto hers.

It was slightly over twenty minutes afterwards that they were finished, and Betty decided to forsake starting the Apocalypse for school. She was starting her shower when he wondered, _what more can I do?_

Maybe it would be worth taking a few minutes to check into Eris Davinia's disappearance. Jughead didn't have a smartphone, but at this point he was slowly becoming used to the _mine-yours-ours_ philosophy and knew Betty would thank him if he figured something out with her phone.

He dialed Riverdale High's attendance office first. Lowering his voice, he growled, "Hello, my daughter is Eris Davinia, and she won't be able to come into class today."

Thirty seconds later, the secretary replied, "I'm sorry, sir, it looks like we don't have your daughter on record as a student at Riverdale -."

Jughead pressed _end call_ and frowned. Then he repeated the same routine with South Side High. His own school had never had a student by that name in its enrollment history. At last, filled with dread and doubt and suspicion of where he was heading, he dialed Greendale High School. 

"Good morning," he said, trying to sound professional. "I'm a truant officer trying to track down one of your students. She's using the name Davinia."

A few minutes of looking into possibilities, and Jughead had his answer. It left him half-dead inside, like a part of him had been stolen and he didn't know where to begin to move. _God, just why?_

The bathroom door opened and Betty emerged, her hair sopping wet and a fresh glow to her previously stoic countenance. The stoic countenance that belonged now to him.

"Juggie? Who're you calling?" 

He passed the phone back to her and lied, "I was just calling South Side to let them know I'll be in late."

Nodding approval, she kissed him. And although he held Betty, he felt more like he was holding her ghost. A ghost that went by Eris Davinia. Someone about whom nothing existed save for the name.

Davinia Street in Greendale. That's where he was going. And then he was going to have to find a way to tell the girl he loved that she'd hallucinated a murder witness. 


	14. Chapter 14

Was it normal to lose your virginity and walk off to school feeling like it was your birthday? Only, this felt much, much better than any birthday Betty ever had. This was joy on a pure metaphysical level. This was what it was like to have the most incredible friends and boyfriend in the world.

As much as she would have loved to respond to the sly glances Veronica was shooting her direction in the hallway, though, Career Day at Riverdale High was upon them. The most she'd been able to give them in gratitude was a beaming smile before everyone scattered to find their choice career booths, but she sensed that was enough for now. But seriously - what they'd done for her went above and beyond a best friend's paygrade.

Kevin was already standing by his father when Betty made it to the Sheriff's table. They faced one another, both hesitant and expecting, until she threw her arms around him. He didn't embrace her too tightly - he never did - but just enough to assure her she was loved.

"You guys have room for a latecomer in the patrol car?" she asked.

Overcoming a look of temporary surprise, Kevin clasped his hands together and exclaimed, "Angel of mercy, name thy price!" Then, shaking off the exaggerated reaction, he said, "My dad's willing to let me off the hook for his department if someone else steps in."

"I see," said Betty, filling up with the lightness of being beneficial to another person. "And what career path are you jumping ship to?"

Kevin smiled and knocked under the table, a superstitious habit they'd shared as children but one she'd outgrown in high school. "Career counseling. Although Veronica recommended it, so that might be her calling."

Veronica was burning on all four cylinders. Betty decided that for her own turn, she was going to front those trips to Monaco and Portugal. To think, just three days ago she'd couldn't imagine the best thing about leaving her friends was coming back to them.

Meanwhile, seeing Betty Cooper show up at his career booth table warranted a 'pleased as punch' face from Sheriff Keller. He'd known her for over half her life, after all, and like essentially every adult in Riverdale, held no concept of of the darkness she'd been struggling with. "We've missed having you over," he said, once Kevin had left to find the career counselor's table. "How're your parents?"

 _Probably shopping for my brand new chastity belt as we speak_. Betty withheld a wince and said, "They're fine, sir."

"And your sister?"

A genuine warmth flickered within her chest. "Naming the twins after Jason and me."

A rare and tender shine moved in Sheriff Keller's eyes. "The two most important people ever to happen in her life. Not an honor to be taken likely. But while you're here, would you mind shedding a bit of insight on your sudden interest in law enforcement?"

Was there tactful way of saying _I thought if I knew how you found a fugitive that I could sabotage you from finding my friend?_

No, that would be counter-productive. But Betty, who had no interest in becoming a cop, fortunately had a decent answer ready. "After getting caught up with what happened to Jason, I saw that so much could have gone differently if I'd just paid more attention to what was going on around me," she replied, nearly slipping and saying _if you'd_ to Sheriff Keller.

He scratched his thin white mustache and said, "I think we're all feeling that way. But this could be a good thing for you, Betty. And the department could use more diligent interns. We'd be lucky to have you."

"Will there be any open cases I can follow you on?" Betty asked, keeping her tone neutral.

Keller looked thoughtful. "On record, no. As a rule we leave ongoing investigations to the force." Sensing disappointment, he added, "We could take a tour of the evidence room, see the process of handling between officers and forensics."

"Anything interesting in there?" Betty fervently hoped her desperation to find a connection to Eris wasn't somehow visible.

"Not much, I fear. The most recent piece to come in was a knife that the gangs out by Greendale commonly use in street fights. Unfortunately, that knife came fresh out of Sweetwater River, so it won't be giving anything awhile for awhile."

 _Thank God_ and _damnit_ had never coincided together as phrases in Betty's head before, but she'd both wanted to protect Eris and know what happened to her. Maybe having one meant sacrificing the other, though.

Clearing her throat, Betty said, "You've dealt with the Greendale gangs a lot?"

"A fair amount. They hover on the Riverdale border. I wish they'd stay on their own damn turf, but sometimes the Spiders will poke their heads up for trouble. Clashing with the Serpents. Sending warnings to their rogue members."

She froze. There was a question sticking out from that intel swamp that Betty was certain might turn the mystery around, but what was it?

"So," she tried, "the Spiders have rogue members in Riverdale?"

"They turn up on occasion," said Keller, raising his eyebrows at the heavy fascination with this topic. "The gang culture in Greendale doesn't have the same solidarity as the Serpents. They'll screw one another over and duck out of dodge. Then, when the 'bad' Spider is caught and taken care of, a message is sent out to other members of the gang."

Betty nodded, but everything out of Keller's voice after that echoed like it was in a dream. Soon all other voices faded out, except for the memory of Jughead's talking about Archie's dad.

 _What happens_ , she wondered, _when a bad Spider is caught?_

The Venus flytrap from Fred Andrews's hospital room - she'd barely noticed it in the hotel room. But Jughead had explained the story behind it, and of its unknown origins. And what she remembered learning about in science last year, was that roughly thirty percent of this carnivorous plant's diet was composed of spiders.

Holy hell...a Greendale Border Spider... _the_ Border Spider that Jughead had seen dead in the woods...had shot Fred Andrews. 

And Eris Davinia had been there to see him die.


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for such a long withdrawal. I am going to try to wrap this up now.

Enjoying her seasoned pasta bowl in the cafeteria solo, Veronica took this moment to appreciate her own talent at staging. She didn’t need to ask whether Betty and Jughead had finally had a night that was long overdue. Even if she hadn’t told Jughead that him sleeping with Betty was a part of her plan, she doubted he was complaining.

And here she was today, at it again – Veronica had demanded that her friends let her have her own table, and bared her teeth when Dilton Doyley picked up the pencil he’d dropped by her chair.

“Unless you feel like hearing what sex was like with Jughead Jones, I suggest you go back to your nerd armada,” she snapped, smiling at his horrified face as he tripped on his way out.

It was within the minute that the other half of her table reservation walked in, a lost look in her eyes. Veronica’s arm shot out in a wave.

“Betty!”

Her friend threw her a startled glance. Something about her reminded Veronica of a bottle of shaken soda – ready turn inside out the moment she opened her mouth.

 _Oh no._ Had last night ended terribly? Did Betty have something against hotels…or Canadians?

“What is it?” she asked quickly once the other girl was seated. Her own nerves were rattling in their cells as she waited for an answer.

Betty shook her head, stunned. “I don’t know…I think Dilton Doyley just yelled in my face before I came in.”

Alarmed, Veronica’s breath stuck in her lungs. “What did he say?”

“Nothing really…it sounded kinda like _cow_ though _._ ”

“Huh.” But Veronica still worried. Now that she looked back on her words to Dilton, it did sound a bit like she was the one who’d hooked up with the beanie-crowned prince of noir.

“Betty, listen -.”

“V.” Betty’s brow furrowed uncertainly. “After what you did for me, I shouldn’t be burdening you with this but I have to figure something out.”

Blinking, Veronica set aside her food. “Sounds like old times. Burden away, B.”

Betty’s fingers were twitching as she told Veronica the most bizarre tale – something about a new student who wasn’t really a student? A Greendale Spider pretending to be a Serpent? One thing was emphasized above all.

“You’re saying that fugly plant in Archie’s dad’s room is a message from the Spiders? Did Iris shoot him?”

“Eris,” corrected Betty.

“Did she send it?” whispered Veronica haltingly.

“No, I don’t think so. The plant is a message from the other Spiders that the one who shot Mr. Andrews was ‘taken care of.’ What I know for sure is that there was a dead Spider gang member found in the woods.”

“How do you know that?”

“Because,” exhaled her friend, “Jughead was one of the Serpents that found him.”

In spite of this grave revelation, Veronica’s nose wrinkled. “Ugh. _Please_ tell me this was not what you two were talking about last night?”

Predictably, Betty was undeterred. “Eris went on the run because she witnessed what happened to him. She must be worried the other Spiders will try to silence her or something.”

It was a long train to follow, for sure. But there was a part of this strange assumption that Veronica had more difficulty grasping than Betty.

“Look, I understand this girl needs help. But why would the Spiders want to hurt her for seeing it if she’s one of them?”

The color drained from Betty’s face. Veronica suddenly wished she hadn’t asked, because lately it seemed that Betty Cooper could go from looking like a bucket of water dumped over her head into an ice statue within a flash.

“I don’t know,” she admitted softly.

Reflexively, Veronica reached across the table and put a hand on her friend’s arm. “Hey, don’t worry about it. We’ll find Eris, we just need to get the gang back together. That’s all.”

A corner of Betty’s mouth quirked.

 _That’s my girl,_ thought Veronica fondly. “Now, are you going to tell me about last night, or do I have to ask Mr. Jones how it went?”

Her friend’s cheeks warmed pink. “Can’t I just thank you and keep the rest private?”

 “I’ll consider it,” Veronica began, then staggered as though she’d been slapped. Archie, her beloved Archiekins, stood in the doorway of the cafeteria, his face shattered into tears. He spun blindly out into the hall, and with an equally shocked look shared between herself and Betty, they raced after him.

Veronica’s heart pounded into a drumroll as they faced him. The shadowed hallways cast a ghostly light on him.

“Arch,” Betty whispered.

“He’s gone,” choked Archie. “My dad’s gone.”


End file.
